The Touch of a Cold Hand
by Kandakicksass
Summary: Erica has more special abilities than she lets on, but it only becomes relevant when she sees Kate Argent for the first time. Ghost!Kate, Medium(ish)!Erica. Femslash and background Sterek.


**Season 3, canon-AU from the end of season 2.**

No one knows about Erica's special talents – not her parents, not the one real friend she'd had in fourth grade, no one. Not even Derek or Isaac. To tell the truth, she'd hoped taking the bite might make it go away. She shouldn't have been surprised, with her admittedly shitty luck, that they only seemed to become more intense. The dreams came more often, clearer, far more vibrant. Now she can _touch_, when before she could only see and hear. It's begun to happen when she's awake, too; a constant torment.

Boyd notices her grimacing at thin air sometimes but doesn't say anything. He's a darling, really, and she doesn't know what she'd do without him – without any of the pack. It was true, what she implied to Scott after their little talk in the hallway her first day after the turn. Derek had helped her, took her in, _made her better_. She loves Derek (not in the way Isaac seems to think and Boyd knows better than to) and she would kill to protect him – any of them, but especially Derek. Derek protected her, after all. Isaac has had his doubts and so has Boyd, but Erica? Erica won't ever let herself doubt Derek.

It's her attachment to Derek – her older brother figure and her guardian – that makes it such a hard punch when she sees Kate Argent for the first time.

She's heard about Kate from Stiles because he's the only one willing to talk about it. Since getting rid of the alpha pack, her and Stiles have formed a sort of truce. He forgave her for braining him with a part of his Jeep. She forgave him for never liking her back on the grounds that a) Stiles is Derek's territory and Derek comes first and b) Stiles admitted that he thought she was hot as hell, and she likes compliments.

So really, it's not a surprise that Stiles and Erica talk. They talk a lot, actually, and one day Stiles happens to be upset about something Derek had said – _"I was sixteen once, Stiles, and I got Kate Argent. I'm not going to be her; we're _not_ rushing this._" Erica gave him a curious look because she honestly didn't know what he was talking about. He'd shifted and frowned and bit his lip, but in the end, he told her all about the Argent who had ruined Derek's life. She's honestly surprised she hasn't heard about it before with the how Beacon Hills loves to gossip but she takes it in stride and accepts the information with a flare of anger and a flash of golden eyes.

Kate's not what Erica expected. She's never seen a photo of her (Stiles tells her that's crazy, because Kate was in the papers a lot after she died, late press from setting a house full of innocents on fire) and she'd pictured maybe a blonde (blonder than Erica) and blue eyes and a cold smile. She's not wrong on the last one, but Kate Argent's hair is brown with a hint of red and her eyes are brown-green. She's devastatingly gorgeous, and utterly mad.

"Well, look at you, little wolf." Her voice is taunting and Erica hates her so much more than she had before. "You can see me, can't you? I hadn't met anyone yet who can. I've heard about it – whispers, you know."

"Leave me alone." Erica's voice trembles but is as cold as she can make it, biting. Her stance implies Kate is unwelcome, but Kate just kind of glides across the room and sits on a chair. She's at Derek's, but he's at Stiles'. That hadn't bothered her; she just needed time away from her parents. But this? She hadn't signed up for this.

"Don't be so unfriendly. You're the first person I've been able to talk to – someone worth talking to, anyway. The dead are so frightfully boring." Kate's smile is sharp and predatory. Erica steels her spine and straightens her shoulders. She's the predator here, and Kate is already dead.

"You can't possibly be expecting politeness from any of us," Erica says finally, testy, irate. Kate looks thrilled. "Just leave, Argent."

Kate's eyes are bright. "C'mon, little wolf."

"My name is Erica," she snaps. "And I want you to leave. You have no right to be here." Kate takes a look around the room.

"You know, it looked a lot like this before the fire," Kate tells her conversationally. "Derek must be getting sentimental."

Erica snarls, rushing her and slamming her against a wall. Her eyes are glowing, she just knows it. "You have no right to talk about him. No right to say his name or stand in his home. You are a monster, and I want you to leave." Her words are backed by the thick growl of her wolf, her voice deeper and rougher than usual.

"Erica?"

Kate Argent is gone, her arms pressing into thin air, and she lowers them slowly with a deep, regulated breath. Her smile is tight when she turns around. Isaac looks a little lost, maybe a bit frightened.

"Nothing to worry about, Isaac," she tells him, ruffling his curls as she passes. Isaac stares after her as she disappears into Derek's room. He offered to make up a room for her but she declined. She had a bedroom at home with her parents, and when she was over she preferred sleeping in his room, anyway. A few minutes later Isaac slips into bed with her, curling around her. Protective.

She closes her eyes, places her arms over Isaac's, wrapped around her torso, and drifts off.

* * *

"_Who's the cutie with the curls?"_

_Erica tenses, vaguely pissed her sleep has been interrupted. "Go away."_

"_Hey," Kate snorts. "I'm not in the house anymore. You can't complain." Her grin turns feral. "You can't keep me away."_

"_No, but I can beat you to a pulp. Even dead, it will hurt. I would know. I punched Isaac's dad in the face once." Her words are biting. _

_Kate laughs. "Isaac? Is that curly's name? Adorable." Erica curses her big mouth and turns around, tending to the flowers her mind conjured up. Well, she isn't actually sure if she's in some sort of ghost subspace or a setting from her own mind, but she tends to the flowers anyway. "Come on, _Erica_. You can't avoid me forever."_

"_I most certainly can," she responds. "Or at least be as boring as possible. Just because I can see you doesn't mean I have to deal with you."_

"_Maybe you do," Kate says, thoughtfully. Erica doesn't like the idea of Kate thinking about anything with any depth. "Haven't you wondered _why_ you can see me?"_

"_Because the universe hates me."_

_Kate laughs and Erica hates herself for thinking that it would be pretty, if she didn't hate Kate so much. "Oh, sweetie, you have no idea. Things can't be that bad, though, can they? I mean, you've got your silly little wolf pack, don't you?"_

"_And I've got you chattering in my ear," Erica grunts, cheeks pink. The sun – her mind's faux sun – is warm. That must be the reason. "Negates the pack. Surprised you're bringing it up, honestly – aren't you against the whole werewolf thing?"_

"_Honey, I'm dead," Kate tells her with a smirk. "No point in worrying about it now, is there? Besides. You're cute enough I can forgive the offense of your species."_

_Erica feels a finger trailing down the skin of her neck exposed by her parted hair. She stiffens at the cold skin. "Don't touch me."_

"_Fine," Kate says, the smirk in her voice. She drops the finger. "But this isn't over, little wolf."_

_When Erica turns around, Kate's gone._

* * *

"Are you okay?"

They're at pack dinner night and Stiles – sitting at Derek's right – looks concerned. Erica is confused for a moment, but he's looking right at her. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asks, cocking her head to the side.

"You just look… really frustrated. Tired. You have for a couple weeks now." If she'd doubted Stiles's sincerity before, she wasn't now.

"I'm fine," she answers weakly. Then flinches when she sees Kate, giving her a catty grin from where she stands behind Derek's shoulder.

"I told you things couldn't be that bad," the brunette says with a cheerful smile. Sometimes Erica wishes she wasn't the only one who could see the dead. "And look at this one." She ghosts her fingers over Derek's messy hair, spiking up. "He really is all grown up, isn't he? With his little boyfriend…" A finger trails down Stiles's cheek. She sees him shudder slightly, frowning. Probably felt a chill. "… and his family."

"Nothing's wrong," Erica grits out. She stands, wiping her hands on her napkin – _cloth napkins, wonder who bought those?_ – and backs away from the table. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll… I'll be right back."

She practically rushes from the room, grimacing when Kate skips behind her, that shit-eating grin on her face. When the door to the bathroom is securely locked, she pitches her voice down low – hopefully Derek wouldn't hear her talking – and hisses, "Why the hell are you here, Kate?"

"Just having a bit of fun. You wouldn't play with me last time we talked," Kate snickers, and Erica hopes her glare is at least half the force of Derek's.

"Is that how you tricked Derek into fucking around with you?" she whispers. "Or did you at least pretend to be a normal bitch instead of a psycho one? Because I can't fathom how he would have possibly have wanted anything to do with a piece of trash like you." Her voice is venomous.

Kate's gets impossibly colder. "Well. Tell me how you really feel, little wolf."

"Stop calling me that!" she snaps and all of a sudden there's a knocking at the door.

"Erica?" Stiles. "Derek said he heard you saying something. Are you okay? Really, I'm kind of freaking here and we _know _how I get when I freak out."

"I'm fine, Stiles," she chokes, then brushes away the wetness from under her eyes and smacks away the hand Kate's stretching out towards her. She opens the door and smiles. "Just felt sort of sick there for a second. But I'm okay now."

He raises an eyebrow, but it only lasts a second before he's nodding, looking relieved. "What were you talking about?"

She racks her brain for a moment. "Just grumbling to myself. Werewolves aren't supposed to get sick, are they? I was about to start cursing if I puked." Her words work and Stiles laughs.

"Fair point. C'mon, I think Scotty-boy was getting worried, too," he tells her and she laughs with him, letting him lead her downstairs.

Stiles slips a comforting hand into hers and she squeezes, smiling at him. Behind her, Kate huffs.

* * *

Erica knows she's asleep, but she doesn't realize that it's not just a regular wet dream until she hears the ghost of Kate's chuckle from between her thighs. A rush of heat floods her when she realizes just what's happening and her hips cant upward into the mouth on her clit, suckling lightly.

"I'm a little surprised you can feel this," Kate murmurs throatily against the warm skin of Erica's thigh.

"I couldn't always," she responds without thinking, then frowns because wasn't she supposed to be ignoring Kate? Hard to do when Kate's mouth is on her, she reasons.

"Oh?" Kate pulls away for a moment, eyebrow raised high. "What? Becoming a wolf change things up more than you expected?" Erica would have been glad the lips are gone but two fingers are slipping through her folds, caressing her opening.

"I wanted it to go away," Erica answers, feeling a little cross but unable to hang onto it. She lets out a gasp when a finger slides into her, entrance made easy by the slick heat of her cunt. "But it just got like this. I couldn't See when I was awake, either."

"And now you can feel me, too? I think I lucked out," Kate tells her with a smirk, finger curling upward, making Erica gasp again. "You're so fucking pretty, little wolf. I wish you could see yourself." Erica doesn't think she would like that very much, being able to see what Kate was doing to her. She can see Kate, though – pupils blown wide, that devious smirk just that much more taunting by the red of her lips. Erica hates the way she feels another little gush of fluid from between her legs at the acknowledgement of what Kate is doing to her.

Kate, apparently, is done talking. She leans down, laying her tongue flat over Erica's clit and swiping upward, sending a shudder through the blonde's body. Kate adds a finger, fucking in and out, leaving Erica breathless. Those fingers combined with the tongue laving over her is too much. She knows it won't take much more to make her come.

She doesn't understand what Kate's doing at all. She wishes she did. All she knows is that her body is coiling, tight and hot and perfect, and Kate's other hand has slipped into her jeans, wrist moving in an obvious movement.

The thought of Kate getting off on going down on her is what really pushes her over for some reason and Erica clenches down on Kate's fingers. It's not that spectacular of an orgasm, too keyed up to really relish in the release, but she passes out anyway. It's probably because she's already asleep.

* * *

She feels dirty for days afterward and feels nothing but contempt for the ten-odd guys who hit on her at school. She smells their lust and their fear simultaneously and hates that she sort of feels the same way about Kate. She tells three to fuck off before she realizes she's being far more of a bitch than usual and then she starts holding back. She isn't going to let Kate affect her like this.

The boys are worried. They've been worried for the past couple weeks, ever since she first saw Kate, and she knows she has to fix that. She hates knowing they're concerned about her; they don't need her drama. They really don't. Even Lydia seems a little worried and well, Lydia is Lydia. At the end of the day, she smiles tightly and tells them she needs some alone time. She goes for a run on the preserve and takes in the fresh air with a deep breath.

"You look a little stressed."

"Fuck off, Kate." Her voice is barely more than a snarl. She doesn't have time for this.

The Argent just laughs. "I thought you'd relax around me once I got you to… _loosen up a little_." Kate's smirk is victorious but Erica ignores it. Her glare could melt stone. She thanks Derek for that.

"What makes you think I would want you? Ever? So you snuck up on me in my sleep and got me off, so _what_. It doesn't mean a damn thing to me. I could get that out of anyone. You're _irrelevant_. Just a whore," Erica spits, and feels a vindictive sort of pleasure when Kate's eyes flash with anger. "Just another whore I've used to get my rocks off."

"I'm the best lay you're going to get, blondie," Kate tells her in a low voice. "I've been around longer; I know what I'm doing. I could make you come _apart_. Don't act so high and mighty, little wolf. Talk bigger than you are and no one will take you seriously."

"Makes sense," Erica says and she makes sure her tone is flippant. "I mean, I don't take _you _seriously, after all."

She sees it coming but doesn't otherwise react when Kate pushes her against a tree and presses their bodies flush together, lips meeting in an angry, messy kiss. Erica realizes that this is hate sex and for some reason, that makes it okay. So, she kisses back and presses her chest against Kate's, feeling her hard nipples line up alongside the older woman's.

"Fuck," Kate hisses when Erica slides a knee between her thighs, pressing up against her pussy, laughing quietly when Kate presses back, hips rolling.

"Who's making whom come apart?" Erica teases, shoving Kate away, backing her against a tree.

This time, it's Erica going down on Kate, and she takes delight in watching this utter _bitch _go vulnerable and pliant. If she wasn't already dead, she would take this moment to kill her.

Instead, Erica licks up into Kate, one tanned leg thrown over her shoulder, thigh trembling against her neck. It's only a few minutes before Erica feels a gush of warm liquid against her tongue and swallows, pulling back with a smirk. "That didn't take long."

Kate's glare has no heat. "I've been dead."

"You still are," Erica snorts, standing on her feet. The knees of her jeans are slightly stained. She'll have to take care of that. "Leave me alone, Kate."

She turns and walks away.

* * *

Somehow, getting off with Kate Argent becomes a bit of a thing. Of course she didn't listen when Erica told her to go away, so Erica gives up. She still tells her to fuck off, even knowing that Kate never will, and ignores her if she's in the middle of something. Their sessions do nothing more than give Erica the ability to stop letting Kate get to her, even if Kate still gets _at her _when she's horny and alone.

She's used to waking up with a mouth on her tit or a cold hand between her legs, and she's more than familiar with Kate's pink, slick folds. Kate is constantly aroused nowadays, sitting on her lap when she's with the boys and pressing her cunt against Erica's thigh or sucking bruises onto Erica's neck when she's at lunch or in class. She knows rationally that this should piss her off, that Kate's taking advantage of her because she's the only one who knows Kate is there. At the same time, though, she likes their fucking around, likes licking up the wetness from Kate's cunt while knowing that Kate will do the same. Kate Argent is still a bitch and Erica would still kill her if she wasn't already dead. She's just also – and she hates to admit Kate was right – a really great lay.

The boys relax gradually as Erica's moods even out, the sleepless nights and endless tension easing. Maybe it's the orgasms, or just the fact that Kate's usually too preoccupied to bait her. Whatever the reason, she's all right with the arrangement.

It doesn't stay a secret for forever, of course. Lydia knows she's seeing _someone_, perceptive genius that she is. Derek has a vague idea that she is, too, but doesn't ask about it. Derek seems a little uncomfortable bringing it up at all, which is kind of amusing.

Apparently, though, Lydia knows more than she let on at first. She corners Erica one day – strange, because since Jackson left town she normally doesn't do confrontations without major reason. She's been quiet lately. Erica quickly realizes why Lydia's been giving her than knowing look, why Lydia grimaces when that flush curls up her cheeks whenever Kate accosts her in public.

"Look," Lydia says quietly. They're at school, and none of the others are around, but she's clearly erring on the side of caution. "I'm not going to lecture you on who you choose to get off with – but can you please tell that psychopath not to do it in public?"

Erica's clearly got a deer in the headlights expression on and Lydia sighs. "You can _see _her?" Erica breathes, unsure of how she feels, besides winded.

Lydia's lips purse and she nods. "Since… since Peter." It's still a sore subject. "I think he opened something inside me – some latent supernatural ability or something. I can't touch them, like you clearly can, but I can see them when they're around."

"I'm sorry," Erica says automatically, flushing in embarrassment. She feels a little scared, too. Lydia gives her a half-smile.

"Don't worry about it. I know you thought we couldn't see her, and you can't exactly tell her to go away when we're all right there. I understand why you don't want people to know – about your ability, or about her. Just… watch it, okay?" Erica supposes she does understand. She's starting to think Lydia might understand a lot more than they gave her credit for.

"Yeah," Erica answers, biting her lip. "Yeah, will do."

She doesn't realize until later that Lydia probably thinks she's _seeing _Kate. She grimaces at the thought but decides not to say anything.

* * *

Lydia, bless her heart, gets the boys to stop being suspicious, probably by telling them to mind their own fucking business in that persuasive manner of hers. Derek gets even more uncomfortable, and Erica thinks that maybe she needs to tell him. She wars over it for weeks, weeks of guilty trips to the bathroom when Kate tries to get at her in public and sleepless nights.

Derek makes it easy for her when he asks what's wrong one night when the boys are off doing whatever boys do in their free time.

"I can see the dead," she says by way of reply and Derek freezes. "Sorry I didn't tell you before. It didn't seem important."

"And it does now?" he asks carefully. She winces. "Erica… what aren't you telling me? Does it have anything to do with these past several weeks?"

She nods.

"Just tell me, Erica."

She sighs. "So, I guess a good place to start would be is by informing you that Kate Argent's been hanging around for a couple months now…"

Derek gets it immediately and looks both shocked and betrayed in one go. "You haven't." She hangs her head, nodding. She's ashamed.

Kate's suddenly there, but Erica doesn't look at the woman attached to the hand on her shoulder, the chilled skin of the dead causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. "I was asleep when it started the first time – she was just fucking with me or something, I think." Derek winces at the wording, his expression a little heartbreaking. "Since then it's just gone on. It's not a relationship or anything but…"

"It's just a lot of sex," Derek says, his voice a bit strangled. She nods. "So. I didn't see that coming." She huffs a little chuckle.

"I'm sorry, Alpha." She's not sure how upset he is with her and doesn't even attempt informality. He sighs, and is silent for several long moments.

"It's the principal of the thing," Derek says eventually, and she nods. "I have Stiles, and as much of a pain in the ass he is, I do care about him." He sounds a little sour when he says that and she almost manages not to crack a grin. Trust Derek to find an easy way out of just saying that he loves the kid. "I didn't expect this."

"I didn't expect you to expect it," she tells him, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "It's been a surreal few months. Derek snorts.

"I'm sure it has. Look, just – don't let her burn anything down? If she's here, I don't want to know about it."

Erica's surprised that Derek isn't issuing an ultimatum. She takes it, as well as her cue to leave. "I love you, Derek," she murmurs, leaning down to wrap her arms around his shoulders. "I would stop this in a heartbeat if you wanted it."

"I don't really care, Erica," Derek tells her, and pets her hair hesitantly. "I just hope you know what you're doing." She nods, squeezing him one more time before letting him go. He's almost immediately in the car on the way to see Stiles and she knows that he's been given a shock. She's also incredibly relieved knowing that he doesn't hate her. If he mutters under his breath about psychotic, interfering whores as he goes out to the Camaro, well – Erica pretends she didn't hear anything. He has more of a right to hate Kate than Erica does. She wonders sometimes how she can hate Kate as much as she does and be so attracted to her at the same time, but then she realizes that Kate doesn't mean _anything _to her besides the sex and the second-hand hatred she holds on Derek's behalf.

She knows, she thinks as she turns to Kate, that Derek is afraid she'll give her everything the way he did. Derek has nothing to be afraid of. Erica knows Kate is attractive, charismatic. She can even be sort of funny.

She also burned down everything Derek loved. She's the reason their entire pack is a fragile thing, broken before it even began. It wasn't their fault, she knows that, and they're healing. They're healing from blows dealt by fate before they even had a chance to try and start clean – and that's okay. It's good for them, to heal as a family. She knows that everything will be okay, but it doesn't change the fact that Kate is the one who did this to them.

She smirks when Kate raises an eyebrow. Kate's a good lay, yeah, but Erica is in no danger of losing her heart to her. From the look on Kate's face, she knows it, too. Erica walks away, up the stairs, and Kate follows silently. She falls asleep that night in a guest room, sated and spent after a good hour and a half of foreplay and two orgasms.

When she wakes up the next day, for the first morning in a long time, Kate Argent is not there. She feels a vague sense of accomplishment, and gets ready for school.


End file.
